Camping in the dunelands of Indiana at this time of year mean two things; mosquitos and humidity. But the forests are beautiful and the quaint area convinced us to spend more time here. The last five days of driving every day also made us hungry for some normality and for me, Italian comfort food. We’ve been living off jerky, hurriedly made morning sandwiches, and questionable midwest bar food. I’ve made sure to throw a bag of those little carrot sticks into our snack bag every day, but even those get old.

To have a day where I can plot a recipe is like heaven and since I’ve been seeing those pretty purple teardrop shapes in the markets, I can’t resist a good eggplant parmesan. But, hey, we’re camping! So, a grilled twist it is. The quick grill gives the eggplant a nice charred taste and then it’s finished off with marzano tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, and instead of mozzarella, I used cheese curds from the farm we stayed on in Iowa. We tend to think of the midwest of a food desert and the little dairy farm was anything but. They were proud of the care they took for their mid-sized herd of dairy cows. The whole family was involved and being a 7th generation farm, each member was secure in their role on the farm. We received a tour from one of the wives of the family and she led us to each section of the production. What struck us the most, was the care and consideration the cows received and how the family really did respect these animals and ensured they had a good life with the best of feed, shelter, and treatment.

While mozzarella is the classic go-to cheese with this dish, feel free to swap it in. However, the cheese curds have that same low moisture and mild flavor. Also, the farm doesn’t add the weird orange coloring to it, so the curds at least have the same whitish color.

In keeping with my goal to cook as much over an open fire as possible, I do finish this dish off in a cast iron pan over the fire. But feel free to finish in a casserole dish in the oven.